Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program in Nevada,

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College of Urban Affairs Department of Criminal Justice Center for the Analysis of Crime Statistics State Data Brief Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program in Nevada, 2005-10 By Jeremy Waller,

1 College of Urban Affairs Department of Criminal Justice Center for the Analysis of Crime Statistics State Data Brief Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program in Nevada, By Jeremy Waller, Timothy C. Hart, Ph.D., and Terance D. Miethe, Ph.D. In 2005, the Federal government began providing financial support to state and local governments through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. The JAG program is a combination of two older Federal programs: the Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG) and Edward Byrne Memorial Grant Program. The JAG program aims to control violent crime as well as to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system overall by supporting state and local initiatives related to one of seven program areas: Law Enforcement Prosecution and Court Prevention and Education Corrections and Community Corrections Drug Treatment and Enforcement Planning, Evaluation, and Technology Improvement Crime Victim and Witness Programs Congressional appropriations determine the amount of JAG money available each year and the U.S. Department of Justice s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) administers the JAG program (see Hickman, 2005). State JAG awards are based on calculations performed by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), using violent crime rates and population figures (See Cooper & Reaves, 2011; Hickman, 2005). Forty percent of a state s award is set aside for local governments, whose portion of the grant is also based on crime and population totals. Nevada s Department of Public Safety (DPS) administers the state JAG award each year. Historically, JAG funding in Nevada has been used predominantly to combat drug-related crimes and gang activity through the support of multijurisdictional narcotic and gang task forces. Task forces and other projects/programs are funded through a competitive sub-grant process. This State Data Brief provides an overview of JAG funding received by the state of Nevada between FY2005 and FY2010. State funding levels in Nevada are compared regionally, as well as to national levels. Local government allocations are also examined and details of programmatic activity and spending in FY2010 are provided. Highlights July CACS DPS On average, between FY2005 and FY2010, Nevada received more than $4.2 million in state and local JAG funds. As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Nevada received about $23 million in additional JAG stimulus money in FY2009. Over the past six years, JAG funds to local governments in Nevada increased 20%. In FY2010, 21 of the 26 JAG sub-awards funded Law Enforcement program area projects, totaling about $2 million. This year, JAG-funded task forces in Nevada made over 1,400 felony arrests and seized over 18kg of commercial grade marijuana. This year, JAG-funded task force activities produced 64 federal/state forfeitures, including over $1.2 million in cash forfeitures alone.

2 State Funding, 2005 Nationally, in FY2005, over $481,000,000 was awarded to states and local municipalities under the JAG program (Hickman, 2005). Nevada received nearly 1% of this total, or about $150 dollars for every violent crime recorded in the state and reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) under the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program (Table 1). Table 1. Allocation of JAG funds in FY Pct. of Dollars per State Allocation total crime All states $481,572, California $58,359, $ Arizona $9,519, $ Oregon $5,468, $ Nevada $4,655, $ Utah $3,767, $ Idaho $2,720, $ All others $397,080, Source: Hickman (2005). Fiscal year (FY) runs from July through June. Comparatively, in FY2005, Idaho received $319, Utah received $279, Oregon received $193, Arizona received $117, and California received $111 in JAG funding per violent crime. State and Local Funding, On average, between FY2005 and FY2010, Nevada received more than $4.2 million in state and local JAG funds. Figure 1 shows JAG funding awards to state and local governments during this time frame. In FY2005, Nevada agencies received the first JAG awards totaling $4.7 million. In FY2008, Nevada received 65% less in JAG award money. Since the FY2008 funding cycle, however, JAG allocations to Nevada have steadily increased. 1 For example, between FY2008 and FY2010, state JAG funds for Nevada rose 247% and local funding climbed 226%. State Funding, 2010 Details of the FY2010 JAG allocation to Nevada are presented in Table 2 and show that the state received more than 1% of all Federal JAG funding or approximately $117 per violent crime in the most recent JAG funding cycle. Table 2. Allocation of JAG funds in FY Pct. of Dollars per State Allocation total crime All states $445,875, California $51,148, $ Arizona $9,866, $ Nevada $5,464, $ Oregon $5,026, $ Utah $3,761, $ Idaho $2,643, $ All others $367,963, Source: Cooper & Reaves (2011). Federal fiscal year (FY) runs from July through June. Comparatively, in FY2010, Idaho received $287, Utah received $251, Oregon received $197, Arizona received $124, and California received $109 in JAG funding for each violent crime. Stimulus Funding, 2009 In addition to the standard, annual JAG allocation, in FY2009 states received stimulus JAG funding as a result of Congress passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Nevada received about $23 million in additional JAG stimulus money in FY2009, which was more than 3 times the normal FY2009 JAG allocation to the state. Table 3 provides details of the state and local JAG stimulus allocation to Nevada and shows that the majority of funds provided to local governments went to Clark County/Las Vegas (83%), followed by Reno (12%), Carson City (1%), Nye County (1%), and Lyon County (1%). Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program in Nevada,

3 Table 3. Allocation of Recovery Act JAG funds in Nevada, FY2009. Allocation 2009 Total $22,912,332 State $13,801,023 Localities $9,111,309 Clark Co./Las Vegas $7,558,206 Reno $1,101,607 Carson City $123,248 Nye Co. $62,245 Lyon Co. $50,186 Douglas Co. $42,206 Elko $36,177 Humboldt Co. $29,792 Pershing Co. $28,728 Churchill Co. $25,359 White Pine Co. $15,073 Carlin $14,187 Fallon $12,236 Winnemucca $12,059 Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance (2011). Local Funding, From FY2005 to FY2010, the allocation of JAG funds to local governments in Nevada increased 20% (Table 4), outpacing the increase in state funding (16%) over the same time period. Although funding to local governments in Nevada reached a low of about $600 thousand in FY2008, in the most recent funding cycle it exceeded $2 million. Since population size is a key component of how JAG funding is allocated, the majority of local government funds awarded in Nevada go to Clark County/Las Vegas. For example, in FY2010, Clark County/Las Vegas received 74% of all local government allocations, followed by North Las Vegas (9%), and Reno (8%). In addition to county, municipal, and joint government awards, JAG funding may be awarded to Tribal governments. Since FY2005, only one Tribal award to Nevada s Tribal governments has been made. Specifically, in FY2007, more than $13 thousand was allocated to the Washoe Tribe. Programmatic Activity, 2010 Local law enforcement and state agencies that receive JAG sub-awards from Nevada s DPS are awarded funds within one of the seven categories described above. Historically, Nevada has largely allocated funds to law enforcement programs focused on combating drug and gang problems, as well as to prevention and training programs. A portion of Nevada s funding has also been used to fund drug courts within the state. JAG-funded programmatic activity in FY2010 is provided by quarter in Table 5 and is summarized in the following sections. 2 Table 4. Local allocation of Nevada JAG funds, FY Allocation Total $1,754,691 $1,066,513 $1,795,974 $605,049 $2,155,799 $2,100,933 County Clark Co./Las Vegas $1,156,066 $729,448 $1,240,885 $441,565 $1,546,676 $1,552,085 Lyon $12,531 $0 $13,206 $0 $12,124 $0 Nye $16,473 $0 $13,685 $0 $15,037 $14,200 Douglas $0 $0 $0 $0 $10,196 $0 Municipal North Las Vegas $194,236 $108,190 $155,378 $56,106 $206,840 $198,095 Henderson $72,864 $41,629 $59,972 $20,199 $69,018 $66,447 Carson City $41,485 $24,960 $37,134 $10,709 $29,775 $24,587 Tribal allocation Washoe Tribe $0 $0 $13,337 $0 $0 $0 Joint Washoe County -- $20,360 $29,681 $0 $26,219 $25,132 Reno City -- $112,280 $185,364 $61,297 $193,174 $175,959 Sparks City -- $29,646 $47,332 $15,173 $46,740 $44,428 Note: Allocations in FY 2009 do not include funds awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. See Table 3 for detailed information on allocation of these funds in Nevada. Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance (2011). -- Total joint allocation in 2005 equaled 261,036; but details of the allocation were unavailable. Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program in Nevada,

4 Table 5. JAG funded progammatic activity by quarter, FY Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total Law Enforcement Personnel State and local initiatives Training 3 $2,624 $14,784 $27,720 $12,162 $57,290 Equipment and supplies 4 $5,509 $75,855 $56,418 $50,772 $188,554 Contractual support Prosecution and Courts Personnel State and local initiatives Prevention and Education Technical Assistance $0 $3,200 $3,900 $3,900 $11,000 Corrections and Community Corrections Personnel State and local initiatives Training 3 $0 $0 $0 $100,000 $100,000 Equipment and supplies 4 $8,800 $0 $0 $0 $8,800 Drug Treatment and Enforcement Personnel State and local initiatives Equipment and supplies 4 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Planning, Evaluation, and Technology Improvement Equipment and supplies 4 $0 $22 $0 $0 $22 Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) online Performance Measurement Tool (PMT). Note: Programatic activity reported in Table 5 represents activity funded with both FY2010 JAG allocations as well as FY2009 JAG allocations carried over to FY2010. Information presented in the table does not refect all performance measure data available in the PMT. 1 Personnel figures represent the number of new personnel hired and/or retained with JAG funds. 2 State and local initiative figures represent the total number of new participants receiving services. 3 Training figures represent the amount of JAG funds used to provide training. 4 Equipment and supplies figures represent the amount of JAG funds used to purchase equipment and/or supplies. 5 Contractural support figures represent the number of hours paid with JAG funds. 6 Technical assistance figures represent the amount of JAG funds used to provide technical assistance. Law Enforcement In FY2010, 21 of the 26 JAG sub-awards issued by Nevada s DPS (Appendix A) funded projects within the Law Enforcement program area. Generally, these funds are used to hire/retain personnel, develop and implement state/local law enforcement initiatives, train law enforcement personnel, and to purchase equipment and supplies (DPS, 2011). For example, more than six-dozen law enforcement personnel were hired/retained during FY2010 with JAG sub-award money (Table 5). In addition, nearly $60 thousand were spent on training and nearly $200 thousand were used to purchase equipment and supplies. Prosecution and Courts Churchill County received the only FY2010 JAG subaward ($100,000) aimed at supporting prosecution and court programs (DPS, 2011). In FY2010, the JAG funds received by Churchill County were used to hire/retain two employees. Prevention and Education Carson City s District Attorney received the only FY2010 JAG sub-award ($14,757) aimed at supporting prevention and education programs (DPS, 2011). These funds were used primarily to provide technical assistance. Specifically, more than $11 thousand were used to provide technical assistance to the community in the form of events and manuals. Corrections and Community Corrections In FY2010, Nevada s Department of Corrections (DOC) received the only JAG sub-award ($100,000) aimed at supporting corrections and/or community corrections programs. These funds were used to hire/retain personnel, develop and implement state/local corrections and community corrections Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program in Nevada,

5 Table 6. JAG funded task force activities by quarter, FY Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total Task Force Activities New investigations initiated ,428 3,133 Federal and/or state search warrants served Task force arrests made Felony ,411 Misdemeanor Task force arrests of gang members only Felony Misdemeanor Drugs seized (in kg) Heroin Cocaine Crack Marijuana (commercial grade) 6, , , ,128.2 Marijuana (hydroponic) Methamphetamine Methamphetamine (ice) Ecstasy (MDMA) Firearm seizures Forfeitures Number of federal/state Amount of federal/state (in cash) $35,531 $28,938 $1,132,647 $13,017 $1,210,133 Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) online Performance Measurement Tool (PMT). Note: Task force activity reported in Table 6 represents activity funded with both FY2010 JAG allocations as well as FY2009 JAG allocations carried over to FY2010. Information presented in the table does not refect all performance measure data available in the PMT. initiatives, and to purchase equipment and supplies (DPS, 2011). Specifically, in FY2010, five employees were hired/retained through the JAG sub-award to Nevada s DOC. In addition, more than 130 state and local initiatives were supported and nearly $10 thousand worth of equipment and supplies were purchased in FY2010 with JAG funds. Drug Treatment and Enforcement The Ridge House, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit social service organization in Reno, Nevada. The Ridge House employs a community-based solution to the issues of reentry designed to change the behavior of offenders, prevent future offending, and make the community safe. The Ridge House received the only FY2010 JAG sub-award ($45,000) aimed at drug treatment and enforcement (DPS, 2011). In FY2010, more than 40 employees were hired/retained as a result of the drug treatment and enforcement JAG sub-award and more than 80 state/local initiatives were supported. Planning, Evaluation, and Technology Improvement A single FY2010 JAG sub-award totaling $300,000 was issued to Clark County/Las Vegas. This award was intended to support planning, evaluation, and technology improvements; however, the program did not become operational until the third quarter and limited performance measure data was available at the end of the 2010 fiscal year (DPS, 2011). Task Force Activity, 2010 As noted above, the large majority of JAG funding in Nevada supports drug and gang task force activities. JAG-funded task force activity in FY2010 is provided by quarter in Table 6 and is summarized in the following sections. New Investigations and Arrests Each quarter during the current fiscal year, JAGfunded task forces initiated hundreds of new investigations aimed at addressing problems related to gangs and drugs in Nevada s communities (DPS, 2011). At the end of FY2010, JAG-funded gang and drug task forces had initiated more than 3,100 new investigations (Table 6). These investigations Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program in Nevada,

6 resulted in 1,411 felony and 305 misdemeanor arrests, including nearly 140 arrests of gang members alone. Drug and Firearm Seizures During the current fiscal year, JAG-funded task forces in Nevada seized large quantities of drugs, including more than 18,000kg (1kg=2.2lbs) of commercial grade marijuana, more than 900kg of methamphetamine, and nearly 64kg of ecstasy (DPS, 2011). Smaller quantities of heroin (2.4kg) and crack (1.6kg) were seized by JAG-funded drug task forces during FY2010. In addition to several kilograms of drugs, dozens of firearms were seized as a result of JAG-funded task force activities this fiscal year. Specifically, since July 2010, Nevada s JAG-funded task forces seized 263 firearms. Forfeitures Legally, forfeiture is the loss of a criminal defendant's rights to property, which is confiscated by the government when the property was used in the commission of a crime. The seizure by law enforcement officers of an automobile used in the transportation of illegal narcotics, for example, is a criminal forfeiture. During the current fiscal year, JAGfunded task force activities resulted in 64 federal/state forfeitures, including over $1.2 million in cash forfeitures alone. Data Source and Limitations Data used in this State Data Brief were obtained from the Bureau of Justice Assistance s (BJA) state allocation comparison tables and performance measure data reported to Nevada s Department of Public Safety as part of JAG sub-award requirements. Performance measure data were accessed online through BJA s Performance Measurement Tool (PMT). Sub-award grant recipients establish performance measures as part of their JAG grant application. Performance measures are reported quarterly throughout the fiscal year. Performance data reported in this State Data Brief do not represent all of the performance data contained in the PMT. State Data Brief (SDB) Program As independent research projects, faculty and graduate students in UNLV's Department of Criminal Justice write research reports on major issues in criminal justice in Nevada. These "State Data Briefs" are statistical summaries of various criminal justice system practices in Nevada over time and highlight differences between Nevada and other states. These reports cover all aspects of the criminal justice system, including trends in crime and arrests, police practices, prosecution and pretrial activities, adjudication and sentencing, and corrections. The data briefs are short in length (2-6 pages), provide several graphs and charts of statewide and national patterns, and are written in an easily readable, non-technical style. They are designed to provide members of the general public, local officials, community organizations, and media outlets a concise and objective statistical profile of current criminal justice practices in Nevada that may serve as a foundation for informed discussions of future crime control policies and practices. Additional information about the State Data Brief Program can be found at the Center for the Analysis of Crime Statistics website: centers/crimestats References Bureau of Justice Assistance (2011). State allocation tables retrieved on February 5, 2011 from Department of Public Safety (2011). Online data access to the Bureau of Justice Assistance s (BJA) Performance Measurement Tool (PMT) retrieved on various data from Cooper, A. D., & Reaves, B. A. (2011). Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, USGPO: Washington, DC (NCJ ). Hickman, M. J. (2005). Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, USGPO: Washington, DC (NCJ ). Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program in Nevada,

7 Appendix A. FY2010 JAG sub-award distributions by program area and recipient. Program Area/Recipient Project Period Amount Law Enforcement Carson City Sheriff's Office Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $270,281 Carson City Sheriff's Office Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $10,000 Carson City Sheriff's Office Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $160,000 Douglas County Sheriff's Office Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $126,000 DPS-Investigation Division Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $111,450 Elko Police Department Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $159,950 Elko Police Department Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $80,000 Fallon Police Department Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $55,000 Henderson Police Department Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $50,000 Humboldt County Sheriff's Department Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $50,000 Lander County Sheriff's Office Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $90,000 Lovelock Police Department Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $85,000 Lyon County Sheriff's Office Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $90,000 Mesquite Police Department Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $125,000 Nye County Sheriff's Office Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $149,500 Reno Police Department Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $70,000 Reno Police Department Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $70,000 Washoe County Sheriff's Department Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $40,000 Washoe County Sheriff's Department Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $70,000 Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California Oct 1, Mar 30, 2011 $4,735 White Pine County Sheriff's Department Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $175,000 Prosecution and Courts Churchill County Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $100,000 Prevention and Education Carson City District Attorney Oct 1, Jun 30, 2011 $14,757 Corrections and Community Corrections Nevada Department of Corrections Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $100,000 Evaluation and Technology Improvement Planning Clark County Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $300,000 Drug Treatment and Enforcement The Ridge House Jul 1, Sep 30, 2013 $45,000 Note: As of July 1, 2011, twenty-six sub-awards were funded with the FY2010 state JAG allocation (2010-DJ-BX-0105). These sub-awards represent $2.60 million of the $3.36 million awarded to the state. Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program in Nevada,

8 1 The increase in JAG FY2009 and FY2010 funding was a result of increased Congressional appropriations for the JAG program overall, and was not due to an increase in Nevada s crime rate or a decrease in the state s population. 2 Programmatic and task force activities are based on information obtained from the Bureau of Justice Assistance s (BJA) online Performance Measurement Tool (PMT). As part of all JAG-sub awards, grantees must identify, collect, and report performance measurement data on activities funded by their award through the PMT. Contact Information Questions or comments about the information contained in this report, data used to generate this report, or about other resources available related to this topic should be address to: Terance D. Miethe, Ph.D. State Data Brief Project Coordinator Center for the Analysis of Crime Statistics University of Nevada Las Vegas 4505 Maryland Parkway - Box 5009 Las Vegas, NV (B) (F) Center for the Analysis of Crime Statistics Department of Criminal Justice University of Nevada, Las Vegas 4505 S. Maryland Pkwy. Box 5009 Las Vegas, NV POSTAGE REQUIRED Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program in Nevada,

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program Nathan James Analyst in Crime Policy January 3, 2013 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Congressional Research